Peace
Name: Peace Physical Age: 18 True Age: 18 Gender: Female Faction: Virtue Element: Essence 'Power' Peace’s power is the manipulation of pure energy. She warps essence around herself to create a physical object. Thus far, this ability has been used mostly for survival, in such areas as creating an axe to chop wood, or making a tent to sleep in. She once used it to create an essence version of flint and tinder, and created a spark to start her fire to eat. Although it has occurred to Peace that she could use this ability to make a weapon for combat, she has not done so yet, and hopes to never have to. In order to maintain the form she has created, she must remain in physical contact with it, however, though she hasn’t experimented much with this limitation, and has no idea if it could be avoided in the future. 'Weapon' Peace doesn’t carry a “weapon” in the traditional sense. Her only possession is a ring which belonged to her mother, and which she wore the day she died. She has never taken it off since, and she channels her power through the small sapphire in the ring. In life, it represented most of the family’s accumulated wealth, and in death it remains her most prized possession, as it is the only way for Peace to use her power. 'Summon' Peace’s summon is Naelathar, a snow leopard, called Nael for short. Nael was the first thing Peace saw after her death (as is the case with most immortals), and although she has a tremendous amount of affection for the leopard, she has a strange relationship with him. While Peace remains hopeful in the success of her eventual goal (to end the conflict between Sins and Virtues), Nael is entirely pessimistic, and maintains that doing so is simply impossible. This has been the source of several arguments between summon and virtue, and therefore they foster a strong love-hate relationship. 'History' Although the eternal optimist, and despite her lofty goals, Peace was very young. Both in the physical, and the immortal sense. She didn’t like to think about it, but it was true and she couldn’t bring herself to deny it. After she was first born… or rather born the second time, and after Nael had explained everything to her, everything had seemed so clear. Peace was sure that her goals would be attained soon, and that her task would be easily completed. She’d been wrong, of course. It had been three months since she’d been born the second time, and she was no closer to mending relations between sins and virtues than when she started. In fact, Peace had never even met a sin. As she lay under her make-shift tent, somewhere in the wilderness of the Lightlands, Peace thought back to how it had all begun. Everything had seemed so simple that day… --- The girl fingered her ring. Well… to be fair, it wasn’t ‘her’ ring, it was her mother’s. She still couldn’t believe the family’s luck, such wealth would normally only be found in the cities to the south. The girl was sure that nothing could possibly exceed the beauty of the small, sapphire ring, and her mother had generously allowed her to wear it for the day. “It’s got all the beauty of the gems of Acorde, Lily, but it’s nothing compared to you,” her mother had said. The girl picked up the pace, skipping lightly along the dirt road in Hunter’s Eden. She balanced one loaf of bread under one arm, and a carried a bag filled with vegetables from the market in the same hand, leaving her right hand to finger the beautiful ring on her left. She smiled lightly as the light of the sun reflected of the jewel onto her face. “Daydreaming again?” The voice came from behind her and startled her out of her reverie. “Garret! What are you doing away from Accorde?” The girl was pleased to see the newcomer, all smiling face and tough, lanky build. “I came to see you, of course.” The boy smiled. “I see you’re wearing the ring we sold you.” “It’s beautiful,” the girl said earnestly. “Look here at how the light sparkles off of it.” The boy nodded. “Beautiful indeed. And worth a fortune.” “We paid a fortune,” the girl reminded him. Garret smiled even more deeply. “Well, see, that’s part of why I’m here. You didn’t really pay as much as you probably should have.” “What do you mean?” Garret shrugged. “Tough times. My family’s jewel crafting business is all but gone. No one has money for diamond rings in the North. But you have one of our finest pieces. My father’s going south to try to sell what’s left off the rich city folk. That ring you’re wearing is probably worth all of what we have put together.” “What… what are you saying, Garret?” “I’m sorry, Lily. But I’m going to have to ask you to give it back.” “I… I can’t. My family needs it, just as much as yours. What if we ever had to sell it for food? It’s just too valuable Garret, I’m sorry.” Garret sighed, but his smile never broke. “So naïve. Are you sure you turned eighteen last week, Lily? I’m not asking, I’m telling.” Still smiling, Garret pulled the knife from his pocket. “I really am sorry, Lily.” It didn’t hurt. Not in the sense the girl would always have imagined. It was more a flash of brief pain. Excruciating in the moment, but dying quickly, and fading into numbness. She glanced down and saw the crimson liquid staining her tunic deep red. She dimly registered that it was blood, and that it was hers. In quick succession, the mortal girl, barely a woman, registered her last mortal thoughts. The knife was still in her chest, and she realized that Garret, one of the oldest friends of her family was holding it. He’d killed her, or was in the process of doing so at least. For a little ring, no less. She felt sadness well up inside her, but her dying mind raced on ahead, working too quickly for the emotion to truly register. She saw a group of men rushing towards Garret, and watched as they tackled him to the ground, pulling the knife from her chest and releasing another sharp burst of pain. They’d caught him, he wouldn’t get away with the crime. But the damage was done. Dimly, the girl saw the light of the sun, glinting off the ring. Such a little thing. She glanced up at the crisp, pale blue sky, and thought her last thought. "Such a beautiful day." Then darkness took her. --- “Peace, Peace, wake up.” Peace snapped awake, the vivid dream dispelled by her companion. “Nael? What is it?” The snow leopard smiled. “The sun’s up. You asked me to wake you at dawn. We have to keep moving.” Peace nodded, already on her feet, and retracting the tent back into the nothingness, the essence fading quickly away. Of course they had to keep moving. They had a job to do. 'Appearance': Peace is extremely frail, and even more fragile. Her arms and legs look like they’re made of porcelain, and always seem much too thin for the amount of strength she occasionally exhibits. She is around average height, at roughly 5’ 7”. She has bright blue eyes, which are made all the more striking by her pale complexion and jet black hair. Peace generally wears a practical travelling outfit, with thick leather boots, and tough pants, with a loose tunic when days are hot, and a heavy jacket when she travels to the North. Peace dislikes staying in large cities for too long, so she rarely wears anything formal, opting for the less stylish, but practical garbs demanded by her nomad lifestyle. 'Behaviour' Peace is the eternal optimist, rarely disgruntled by unfortunate circumstances, and fiercely determined to achieve her goal. While she tries to be realistic when she can, Peace honestly believes that ending the conflict between the sins and virtues should be easy, and that she will eventually be able to achieve it. Although she acts childlike, and immature at times (Peace has a certain tendency towards shiny things, and has been known to skip merrily through the middle of major cities, oblivious to the confused stares shot at her by citizens), Peace is serious and extremely determined when the situation calls for a less sunny disposition. Category:Characters Category:Virtues Category:Essence